Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-02-05

keeping Track Of the Contents Of the
Congressional Library.
NIX sPoFFoRDs KNOWLEDGE OF OVER HALF A MILLION
VoLuAEs-How TO READ EAPIDLY-HABrTs OF READ
ING THAT WASTE TINA TALK WITH THE LIBRA
RAN.

N9 THAT WASTE TIMR-A TALK WITH THE LIBRA
RAN.
1t Is commonly said that Mr.. SpofIord, the libra
rain OF Congress, knows something about the con-
tents OF every volume In the library. This means
that ne mas slowed away in moderate sized head
SIX hundred thousand volumes Of various sizes and
bindings. member of Congress facetiously said,
Il don't read books. read SpOfford." In that way,
ne added, he got the whole library at one glance.
figure OF speech, but not as broad as it sounds
IL member or senator wants q quotation that
cannot DE found in any Of the "Familiar Quota
IONS" and Is Of very obscure origin, he goes to
mi. SpOnOrd. II he wants the best authority on
any SuDJect OF, indeed, If he wants to learn any
tnng that may be found in any of those thousands
OF Volumes, he goes to the same source. Members
Mr.. Sponord is probably the most rapid reader
IN tnis country The other day STAR reporter
sought some information of him. simultaneously,
Within space of five minutes he conversed with
the reporter, "read" through completely twelve
page New York paper, dictated letter to q ste
nograpner. and gave directions to two assistants.
ne commenced all at the same time and finished
tnem together. A remarks sentence dictated
aside-a drection-a sentence dictated-a remark
anu so on, apparently without an effort, and all
the time his eyes were running over the paper al
most as fast as he could turn from page to page.
:. The reporter asked him afterwards how he did
On IL comes natural for me to give my atten-
tion TO two or three things together that way. l
10 IL oy sort OF intuition without thinking Of it,
NJ" ~ MEAD hAPluLf.
"But how do you read so rapidly?"
81 acquire the subject matter, said Mr. Spofford
81 pick out the meat-the pith. pay no atten-
ZION tothe verbiage. l scarcely see the words,
and never note the form Of sentences. have
learned, by long practice and having natural
tendency for 1t, TO get the information without
the rhetoric. In this way the thought is got at a
time too hoE os SUq w wa Won
afford TO waste it on words. In reading there is
SO much that Is OF no use to you-a worthless lot
OF VerDlage. BY practice you can avoid all this.
Nearly all books or papers are taken up mostly
with rhetoric. and have the fact and substance
stored away in q very small space if you only
than half an hour, and never more than an hour
and half In the reading-or reconnaissance OF the
took volume from the Shelf mo" looking at the
Ute this Is hardly the proper book to illustrate
It with This is Carlyle; he has TO be read; every
be read as have described. You must read every
word, and well 1t pays you for the time. But 1t is
only O. such rugged and extraordinary writer that
II Is necessary to read that way. All those thou
sands of books, with smooth easy running SEN
fences. they are all alike, and you don't want to
waste time on the language you want to seize on
to the soul and devour it In an instant. Like this
now" and he reached another book mot Carlyle)
and went down the pages one after another, as an
expert accountant would go down column OF fig-
ures. Nothing there want, nor there nor there"
Then occasionally striking something TO the point
over probably hfteen OF twenty pages in this way
In length OF time hardly worth reckoning, and
Without even making a break In the conversation.
THOUGHTS AND NOT WORDS.
'Many people, Mr.. Spofford went on, shave the
tfme-wasdng habit OF prOnouncing every word in
their mind and noticing every pause and punctua-
tlon as they go along, as IL reading aloud All
THESE words and sentences, with the capitalize
ton and punctuatiOn-the commas, the cOlOns. the
semi-cOlOnS, the periods and the paragraphs are
only the signs to be followed but not to be recorded
IN the mind. The mind must take note OF the
tnouSht only Many readers, perhaps most readers,
chuck their heads up with commas and colons in.
stead OF thoughts"
Can you estimate how many books you have
"Oh, could not begin to make an estimate.
That Is. OF the books have read In this way AS
parattvely few. There are hundreds OF young
ladies in Washington who have reau more books
faa a1vs nave he. ManySery many.read many as
the number Of books they do. 1 don't see how they
get through them"
'.NOvels,' suggested the reporter.
"NO. not in all cases. There are some who read
nothing but fiction, but there are many other
works read by these reading young ladies'"
Il do not have time to read. read fiction when
travel, but probably at no other time"
KEEPING TRACK OF 100000 BOOKS.
ut is said," suggested the reporter "that you
know every book in the hbrary?"
'In general way. know where to find every
Dook its SIZE ana general appearance and its sub
the books, but merely what they are about, There
are some six hundred thousand volumes arranged
divided. / nave the library arranged according To
what conceived TO be the common-sense plan. The
books are arranged alphabetically by subject The
fiction only by authors. You now in the alcoye
containing biographies OF Englishmen The alcOyes
are arranged alphabetically by subjects and the
books within arranged In their alphabetical order
For instance, take Cromwell; all the biogranhies
OF Cromwell! are together, and next Is another &C"
progressively. Suppose some one wants a certain
work on nnance. know 1t Is In that alcove up
there know what book is by assOciatiOn and
just where 1t Is. But that alcOve is overlooked
and the books are are, all piled up on the oor and
Of comparatively recent date. l know it ia NOT ON
the shelves, because they were filled long before
where: know the size OF the book and its appear
ance; can recognize it; for 1t passed thrOurh INV
hands to get into the library. For the past twenty
years every book that has come into the library
has gone through my hands and remember It.
In general way know its size and appearance
mention, will remember it and what it is ike #
is all working OF the mind by association"
FINDING QUOTATIONS BY ELIMINATION
"How about finding quotations." asked the
reporter.
"Wel, IL a member wants to use a ouotat,on
that Is not In familiar Quotations. and is from
poet no has no concOrdance-ByrOn and Burns.
for instance, have no cOncOrdance-and he wants
70 know the exact words and where it comes from
he will probably come to me- He will Hkely
remember In general way what it fs--a few OF
the w0rdS-or what 1t Is about and the metre I
may De aDie 10 tell 0y It's sound who the author ia
and can form an idea anyhow as 10 the period n
belongs to. Then discard all poems OF an earlier
or later period, then discard all authors know
could not nave written IT, ana then discard again
all poems OF Onerent metre and all upon subjects
wherein the quotation could not occur In this
way narrow my fleld OF research. and then 7
generally have little difficulty in finding what
want
=, 1T is the same principle throughout discard
"Are MT you always thinking OF books?n asked
the reporter 'Can you ever get your mind Oh
sNy wife tells me that sometimes. not often.
talk OF DOCKS In my Sleep-neycr OF anything else
out never think or books after leave here
cut myself loose entirely, leaving the library
behind"
Affairs In Norfolk.
FOUND DEAD ON THE RAILROAD rRAcK-woRK On TIE
TRENTON FINISHED.
Correspondence Of The EVENING STAR
NORFOLK. Va, Feb. 1-Afew minutes before ?
O'Clock this morning the body OF an unknown
white man was found on the track OF the Norfolk
Terminal railroad about thirty yards south of Tur
nerS crossing. The remains were wing by the side
OF the track, the head, which had been cOmpleteIy
severed, was lying between the rails as was part
or the right arm. train from Lambert'S point
had passed the spot short time before. From the
almost entire absence OF blood, It was thought by
some that the man had been killed and placed on
the track: put there was no other evidence 10 sus-
In this neighborhOOd. He was about Is years Of
age, weighed l45 pounds and wore dark coat and
pants Among the articles In hiA pockets was a
key, which was Inscribed Edward Halleran. Boston
Mass. A c0roners jury returned q verdict OF acci-
dental death.